News

by Yuji Yamamoto, Staff Writer

A private peace memorial museum has opened in the area of Ikachi in Yanai City, Yamaguchi Prefecture, the location at which a U.S. fighter jet crashed near the end of the Pacific theater of World War II. Crew members taken to Hiroshima as prisoners of war became victims of the atomic bomb later dropped by the U.S. military. The museum communicates the tragedy of war, revealing information on the exchange between the former U.S. captain of the aircraft, who did not experience the atomic bombing, and a Japanese A-bomb survivor who has worked to investigate the stories of the U.S. soldiers over many years.

Masanori Takenaga, 71, works to pass on memories of the atomic bombing to local residents while holding the position as head of a corporation. He purchased a 10-meter-long, three-meter-wide trailer and transformed it into the memorial museum. In the center of a room in the trailer is exhibited an oil painting of then-U.S. President Barack Obama embracing Shigeaki Mori, 85, an A-bomb survivor from Hiroshima’s Nishi Ward. The painting, created by an artist in Toyama Prefecture, depicts a scene at the time Mr. Obama visited Hiroshima in 2016 and met with Mr. Mori, who has studied the issue of U.S. soldiers killed in the bombing for more than 40 years. Mr. Mori donated the painting to the museum.

The museum’s exhibits consist mainly of panels. The 15 panels include a detailed map showing the location at which the U.S. soldiers landed with parachutes as well as photographs of the crashed U.S. fighter aircraft. The displayed artifacts include debris from the body of the plane and fragments of bullets. The exhibited materials were collected by Mr. Takenaga or donated by friends and people involved in the study of the history of that war.

The idea for the memorial museum was born in 2016 when a documentary film about Mr. Mori and the bereaved families of the American soldiers was shown in Yanai City. Mr. Takenaga was one of the people involved in the film’s production. When a member of the public who had seen the film asked whether there was a memorial museum related to the event, Mr. Takenaga made a promise to build one in the future. Although a peace monument was erected by local residents in 1998, no location to display materials existed at that time.

Mr. Takenaga remembers picking up debris from the plane with friends when they were elementary school students. However, he did not know American soldiers had died in Hiroshima until he reached his 50s and read Mr. Mori’s writings. With the number of people directly experiencing the war on the decline, Mr. Takenaga sensed that memories were fading. It was then that he began to communicate with Mr. Mori, resulting in his growing interest in the topic.

The words of Thomas Cartwright, former captain of the aircraft who died in 2015 at the age of 90, are also etched in Mr. Takenaga’s mind. Mr. Cartwright had been transferred from Hiroshima to Tokyo, which resulted in his avoiding the atomic bombing. The words were to the effect that war creates a chain of destruction and hatred, and that peace brings happiness and prosperity to people. That conversation took place with Mr. Mori and residents of the Ikachi area when Mr. Cartwright visited Japan in 1999 to mourn the lost lives of his compatriots.

One year has passed since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine. The world situation has become so unstable that hints are being dropped about the use of nuclear weapons. Mr. Takenaga emphasized the significance of the memorial museum. “It is exactly at a time like this that we need to inform people of the horrors of nuclear weapons and the irrationality of war.” While continuing his regular work, he opens the doors of the museum for those who wish to visit.

For those hoping to see the museum exhibits, reservations are required. They can be made through the Facebook page of the Ikachi Lonesome Lady Peace Memorial Museum.

Keywords

U.S. fighter plane that crashed in Ikachi, Yanai City
On July 28, 1945, the U.S. B-24 bomber Lonesome Lady departed Yomitani Airfield in Okinawa Prefecture. After attacking the battleship Haruna, which was at anchor off Kure City, the aircraft was hit by antiaircraft fire and crashed into what was then Ikachi Village in Yamaguchi Prefecture. Nine members of the crew survived the crash but six that had been detained as prisoners of war at the Chugoku Military Police Headquarters in Hiroshima died in the atomic bombing by the U.S. military on August 6, 1945.

(Originally published on February 27, 2023)